Porsche attained the status on October 6, with a valuation of €85 billion ($83.5 billion) after the share price rose to €93 ($91.40), while Volkswagen was valued at €77billion, Reuters reported the same day. Notably, Porsche had previously recorded a sharp drop in its shares early in the week but rallied after investment banks that participated in its flotation acquired almost 3.8 million shares valued at €312.8 million. The acquisition was part of the greenshoe option. Furthermore, the Porsche IPO deal included a standard greenshoe option allowing a stabilization manager to purchase shares in the market at the IPO price in the first 30 days after listing to help provide price stability. Elsewhere, Mercedes-Benz ranks as the third most valuable European automaker at €57.2 billion, followed by BMW at €47.5 billion, while Stellantis is fifth at €39.7 billion.
Volkswagen cites macroeconomic factors
In response to the dethroning, Volkswagen pointed out that the prevailing macroeconomic conditions have partly contributed to the shift. It is worth noting that Volkswagen listed Porsche floating 12.5% of the sportscar brand. Following the decisions, speculation has emerged indicating that Volkswagen might conduct more listings to unlock the group’s value. Following the IPO, Volkswagen intends to hand out 49% of the $19.5 billion proceeds in a special dividend set to be voted by shareholders in December. At the same time, Porsche’s increasing valuation has propelled the company to emerge as the fifth most valuable listed company in Germany. The company trails Linde, SAP, Deutsche Telekom and Siemens.
